Vessel Strike Avoidance Fund
Forecasted
Vessel Strike Avoidance Fund supports researchers and technology developers in developing, testing, and adopting tools to help mariners avoid collisions with North Atlantic right whales and other large whales.
Funder: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Due Dates: April 15, 2026, 11:59 pm EST (Pre-proposal) | May 2026 (Full-proposal invitations) | June 24, 2026, 11:59 pm EST (Invited full proposal) | November 2026 (Award announcements)
Funding Amounts: Typically $250,000–$750,000 for projects lasting up to 24 months; smaller and larger requests are eligible
Summary: Supports technology development, testing, and adoption to help mariners avoid collisions with North Atlantic right whales and other large whales.
Key Information: Work outside right whale range must demonstrate substantial Atlantic coast stakeholder engagement and consideration of right whale characteristics, behavior, and habitat use.
Description
The Vessel Strike Avoidance Fund is administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with additional support from Toyota Motors North America. It supports innovative technologies, tools, and engineering approaches that reduce collisions between vessels and large whales, especially the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.
The program primarily focuses on the Atlantic Coast, where whale habitat and migration routes overlap with ports, shipping lanes, and recreational boating areas. Its goal is to accelerate promising solutions from development toward implementation while reducing operational impacts on commercial and recreational vessels. The 2026 competition emphasizes real-time detection and investigations into strike avoidance or reduced strike severity, particularly for high-risk vessel types and high-speed operations.
